Sex trafficking survivor to share powerful story at Loyola

The Loyola University New Orleans Modern Slavery Research Project, led by assistant professor Laura Murphy, Ph.D., will host sex trafficking survivor Minh Dang for an inspiring free, public talk Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. about how the power of language can achieve change and end injustice.

"It is critical that all of us who are working to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking listen carefully not only to the life stories of survivors but to their recommendations for how we can address the issue. They are our experts on the legislation we need to protect victims and on the social services we can provide to make escape possible," Murphy said. "Minh Dang is a survivor and researcher who has dedicated her life to studying and responding to trafficking. Her commitment to the cause humbles and inspires me."

Leader of a new network of trafficking survivors called the National Survivor Network and former executive director of Jada Pinkett Smith’s Don't Sell Bodies anti-trafficking organization, Dang will speak in the St. Charles Room in Loyola’s Danna Student Center located on the university’s main campus. The “Language that Liberates: Speaking Our Way to Freedom” event is part of Loyola’s Biever Guest Lecture Series, which offers free talks by individuals distinguished in a variety of culturally diverse topics.

California-native Dang, now 28, was sold for sex by her own parents starting at age 10. “I was taught that this was my burden, my crime,” Dang told Katie Couric on ABC’s syndicated “Katie” show in January. “I think my escape was from the beginning; it was a long process … the really crucial step was going to college.”